There is evidence of superstition among ancient civilizations. But this is not something of the past. Superstition is part of our modern world, too.
Some very old beliefs are present among us today: a broken mirror, for example, means seven years of bad luck. A black cat brings you bad luck. A black cat brings you bad luck when it crosses your way. Some people never walk under a ladder because it also means bad luck. There is a very curious belief among New Yorkers: 13 is a sign of bad luck and many buildings have no thirteenth floor.
There is also a place for good luck in superstition. Some charms and beliefs are popular because they bring good luck. A horseshoe, for example, or a four-leaf clover are popular good luck charms around the world. In Brazil, it is very difficult to find a ticket of Federal Lottery with a final 13 – this is the lucky number. There is another curious belief in Brazil: three kisses on the face of a single girl bring marriage.
Superstition is certainly part of the past, present, and future life of man. For some people, it is ignorance; for others, it is an important part of their lives.
Source: Inglês – Vol. Único – Graded English – Ed. Moderna – Elisabeth Prescher, Ernesto Pasqualin, Eduardo Amos
Comprehension
A – Answer the questions in Portuguese. Find the answers in the text.
1. O texto apresenta uma superstição que existe na cidade de Nova York. Qual é?
2. Superstição é coisa do passado?
3. Quais são os dois amuletos de boa sorte que o autor menciona?
B – Write T for True and F for False according to the text.
( ) A horseshoe and a black cat are good luck signs.
( ) There is no superstition in Brazil.
( ) There are no floors in the buildings in New York.
( ) There is evidence of superstition in our world.
( ) Thirteen is a lucky number in the Federal Lottery in Bazil.
C – Choose the correct alternative according to thetext.
1. Some very old beliefs
a) are good luck charms
b) are part of our world
c) bring seven years of bad luck
2. A broken mirror:
a) brings bad luck
b) brings good luck
c) is something of the future
3. Thirteen:
a) is a good luck number in the Brazilian Federal Lottery
b) is a good lucky number in New York.
c) means seven years of bad luck.
4. Three kisses on the faces on a single girl:
a) is a good luck charm.
b) bring bad luck.
c) bring marriage.
5. A horseshoe and:
a) a black cat bring good luck.
b) a four-leaf clover bring good luck.
c) a four-leaf clover bring bad luck.
D – Answer the questions according to the ext.
1 – Where there is evidence of superstition?
2 – What is the old belief about a broken mirror?
3 – What is the old belief about a black cat?
4 – When is a ladder a sign of bad luck?
5 – Why aren’t there thirteenth floors in many buildings in New York?
Since the end of the Cold War, presidents have no longer been defenders of ideas and strategic positions in international geopolitics. Globalization has reduced the national leaders to local agendas, above all to commercial agendas.
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Here is what I posted today on Brazzil Magazine, the Elite Trader Economics Forum, and on other places on the web:
Ricardo: Ederson, if you read my articles going back to 2002 then you would know that I was against the United States attacking Iraq even before the United States made that terrible mistake.
And since 2002 I wrote many times over the years that Afghanistan is where former superpowers go to die a slow death.
Since before the US attacked Iraq I said on my articles it was all about pillaging the oil and the natural resources of these countries.
I grew up in Brazil and as a young man I came to the United States and during all that time I was told that the Soviet Union was a "Rogue Nation" and an "Evil Empire." But somewhere along the way the United States changed in a drastic way - and today we can say that the United States has turned itself into the "Rogue Nation" that everybody has to worry about.
The reality is: Something went drastically wrong with the United States, and that old good country of the past it does not exist anymore - today we have only the wreckage of the old country and a country in decline in every way.
Barack Obama was elected because people wanted "CHANGE" - He changed nothing, and he just became a member of the old club that had been wrecking this country for a long time.
A lot people that I know are really pissed with the government of the United States and all these scoundrels of Wall Street.
Most American politicians (with very few exceptions) are not worth even the food that they eat.
Gerald Celente -The First Great War of the 21st Century – April 3, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUX-1BI_pvQ
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